G-H/V girls pick up two more wins

Three games in one week made for a long stretch of basketball for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura girls. The team picked up two road wins and dropped a home contest.

West Hancock 56, G-H/V 42

Tuesday night’s matchup with West Hancock showed the G-H/V girls the importance of playing a full 32 minutes. Despite playing a great first quarter, the Cardinals let up the intensity in the remaining three, dropping the game, 56-42.

“This game should be a great learning experience for my girls,” said Coach Matt Erpelding. “We need to do a better job of executing our game plan for the entire game. We do so for the first quarter, but then go away from that for whatever reason and let the other team dictate how the game is played.”

The Cards came out strong and jumped to a 16-10 lead in the first quarter. According to the coach, they were also attacking the boards well in the first half, out-rebounding the Eagles 28-18. G-H/V’s intensity declined from there and West Hancock controlled the rest of the game.

“We had Tiara and Maddie get into foul trouble late in the first half and early in the third quarter, so their minutes were severely limited in the second half,” said Erpelding. “Those two are the catalysts for our pressure defense and with both of them watching from the bench, it took away from our success.”

Bri Bier led the scoring with 11 points. Other scoring leaders included Shelby Rayhons with six and Tiara Van Gerpen and Maddie Tusha had five points apiece.

Maddie and Grace Tusha led under the boards with six rebounds apiece. Bier and Rayhons each pulled in five.

The Tusha sisters also had two blocked shots apiece. Bier led the team in assists with three, while Emily Spilman led in steals with three.

G-H/V 56, B-K 22

The G-H/V girls had no problem handling Belmond-Klemme, cruising to an easy 56-22 win on Friday night at Belmond.

The Broncos didn’t know what hit them in the first quarter, as the Cardinals dominated, 22-6. Belmond-Klemme made some noise in the second quarter, outscoring G-H/V 10-4. G-H/V’s pressure defense was the undoing of the Broncos for the remainder of the game.

“Our defense was outstanding all night long, forcing 39 turnovers, 24 of which were steals leading to some easy baskets,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

Balanced scoring was also key, with three players reaching double figures. Mackenzie Haag led the team with 11 points, while Grace Tusha and Hannah Hutcheson were right behind her with 10 apiece. Maddie Tusha dumped in seven points.